Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (Margaret River)

There is no doubt the 2019 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon sits right near the top of the Moss Wood quality tree and we have high expectations for its cellaring. Given its concentration and structure, courtesy of the long slow season and also the relatively small crop, we anticipate it will need at least a decade to show some bottle development. Somewhere between 10 and 15 years should see some softening of the tannins and the development of the tar and cedar characters. However, full maturity will require at least 25 years cellaring and after which it should live well beyond 40 years of age.

The fruit was hand-picked and delivered to the winery where it was sorted and destemmed into small open tanks. Each was seeded for primary fermentation with multiple yeast strains and hand-plunged, 3 times per day. Temperatures were controlled to 32°C.

After 15 days on skins the wine was drained and pressed to stainless steel tank, where it completed malolactic fermentation. In May 2019 the various batches were racked to French oak barriques, of which 15% were new.

In October 2021, all barrels racked and blended in stainless steel and fining trials were carried out to assess tannin balance. None of the treatments improved the wine, so it remained unfined. It was then sterile filtered and bottled on 2nd November 2021.